Data tuners receive information and applications which are broadcast to them in digital form. Referring now to FIG. 1 a conventional data tuner is shown. A broadcast signal is received by antenna 146 coupled to data and source program tuner 144. Data and source program tuner 144 receives data formatted for a data tuner and a conventional source program on the same frequency. Selector 152 is used by a user to change the tuned frequency of data and source program tuner 144. One output 149 of data and source program tuner 144 may be used to reproduce the source program in a conventional receiver fashion, for example to reproduce an audio signal when output 149 is coupled to amplifier 148 which is in turn coupled to speaker 150 in a conventional fashion. Data tuner 144 has output 147 coupled to a decoder 142, which decodes the data signal received by the data tuner 144. Processor 140 is coupled to decoder 142 and may be a microprocessor or a set of interconnected combinational logic to perform the functions described herein.
Processor 140 runs the applications received by data tuner 144 or interprets commands received by data tuner 144 in accordance with a stored program (not shown) and interprets user commands. These applications may instruct processor 140 to display certain data on display 128 using display driver 130. Information may be displayed in the center portion of display 128, or in specific areas of the display 128, such as areas 120, 122, 124, 126. Information displayed in areas 120, 122, 124, 126 may correspond to actions which may be performed when a user depresses one of the corresponding indicators, switches or buttons 110, 112, 114, 116.
Control Center 190 directs the broadcast of data by broadcasting stations 192, 194 which may also broadcast source programs.
In one arrangement, a broadcaster may only broadcast certain types of information over a particular frequency, requiring the data and source program tuner 144 to be tuned to that frequency in order to receive that information. If the data and source program tuner 144 is not tuned to the frequency carrying the information, the information will not be displayed on the display 128, and the user will not receive the information.
Systems using data tuners sometimes experience difficulties in the collection of information to be broadcast. Data tuners may be used to display information such as environmental conditions, like traffic and weather information, with the information collected using helicopters and weather monitoring stations. Many broadcasting stations are limited to a few of these collection devices because of the expense of the devices. In addition, weather monitoring stations monitor only the weather in the location at which they are installed, with potential weather differences occurring only a few miles away occurring undetected. Helicopters may be directed to different locations depending on interest, but at a high cost of a trained operator and equipment. Although helicopters may move from location to location rapidly, they cannot be at two locations at the same time, nor can they move large distances instantaneously. Point to point transceivers such as cellular telephones may be outfitted with sensors to provide the required information, but the data received from them is difficult to manage if many are in use at the same time, resulting in limiting the use of the transceivers to only a few, limited coverage, a lack of control of the data transmissions from such transceivers resulting in data overload, or combinations of the above.